National union calls for exams, mandatory courses for new teachers

ATLANTA -- The American Federation of Teachers, which represents nearly a million educators, released a report Friday that calls for stricter standards in teacher training and hiring.

The report, which was presented at the annual meeting of the Education Writers Association in Atlanta, recommends rigorous national exams for those entering teacher education programs as well as those seeking licenses to teach.

ATF president Sandra Feldman said an estimated 220,000 teachers will have to be replaced each year over the next decade and improvements to standards should be made now.

''If we enhance teacher education programs and raise requirements for new teachers now, we will be able to make dramatic improvements in the effectiveness of teachers and in student performance for years to come,'' Feldman said.

The National Education Association, which represents 2.5 million elementary and secondary teachers, said in a statement that implementing national tests could delay efforts to enforce higher standards already in place in most states.

''What we need to have is all states implementing these tests and to set the bar high for passing them,'' NEA President Bob Chase said. ''The development of a new test may delay this progress.''

A staff member on the committee that issued the report, Joan Earatz-Snowden, said state tests are inadequate and that some national measuring stick is necessary.

''Applicants to law school have to take the LSAT and medical school students take the MCAT,'' she said. ''All you have to do to get into some teaching programs is survive two years of college.''

And although the idea of a national test has gotten the greatest attention, Earatz-Snowden said the report's other recommendations -- such as requiring a subject major in addition to education coursework, a one-year internship teaching in a classroom, and higher grade point averages -- may be more important

Most teacher education programs now require only a 2.5 grade point average -- a C-plus, according to the report. The report suggests raising that requirement first to 2.75 and eventually to 3.0.

Some argue that raising standards in the midst of a nationwide teacher shortage will not solve the problem.

''Tougher standards for teachers seems to be very much in vogue right now, and you really can't argue with them,'' said Wayne Johnson, president of the California Teachers Association. ''But at the same time that you want tougher standards you have a growing teachers shortage and teachers' salaries are less competitive.''

What Johnson called a ''schizophrenic system'' of raising standards while the number of teachers dwindles has resulted in California issuing 50,000 emergency teaching credentials in the last 2 years, he said.

The Professional Association of Georgia Educators, which represents 48,000 teachers in the state, praised the report.

''The challenges in the classrooms in the next few decades are going to be greater than in the past and teachers are going to need to meet higher standards,'' PAGE spokesman Tim Callahan said.

But improvements to standards should be matched by improvements to teachers' working conditions and pay, he said.

The statement by NEA President Bob Chase also mentioned concerns about raising teacher pay along with teacher standards.

''Teachers are still paid less than professions that require comparable education and skills,'' Chase said. ''Until this fact is addressed, all attempts to improve the quality of teachers will ring hollow.''